Isn't It Obvious?
by Magic Malcolm
Summary: Prequel to "Blind Dating For Demons." Once you become aware of all the little signs, it's impossible not to notice them from then on in. Bayley finds herself torn between wanting to get two of her best friends together...Or not invading their privacy, being sensible and letting them figure things out for themselves. It's so obvious, surely they'll realize it soon enough...right?
1. Carmella Explains It All

It was really all Carmella's fault. **Far** too observant for her own good.

Sami had dragged his nearest and dearest friends over to their local record store, full of more enthusiasm than usual. He'd been searching for a particular vinyl for weeks now, and the store clerk had assured Sami that, yes, they had it in stock and yes, we'll hold on to it for you. Finn hadn't taken much convincing, Bayley was always keen to hang out with her favourite boys and Carmella had been dragged along since Enzo and Cass were hitting the gym that afternoon. Carmella's reluctance was somewhat satiated by the promise of coffee and sweet treats afterwards.

Sami and Finn had been huddled around the vinyl section for a little too long, Sami looking a little frantic as he searched through the records whilst Finn looked on in bemusement. Bayley, naturally, had migrated towards the pop section, with Carmella wistfully glancing outside at a nearby café. A sudden movement caught Carmella's eye, she quickly glanced over to see Sami throwing his hands in the air in defeat…Finn trying to catch the attention of one of the store clerks for help.

Carmella hadn't known Finn and Sami as long as Bayley, but every time the gang hung out…it just seemed that they always got lost in their own little world so easily. Not purposely trying to exclude everyone else, not at all, but… _hmm_ …

"Bay, can I ask a quick question?" Carmella turned back around to her best friend, who was glancing at some compilation CDs from the 80s, "About Samuel and Finn."

"Oh, you have to let me be there when you call Sami 'Samuel' to his face," Bayley grinned, putting the CD back down and giving Carmella her full attention, "Right, ask away!"

"Like…I don't know if I just missed the memo on those two or not…but…" Carmella looked back over to the two boys, still huddled together awaiting the clerks return, "They're **totally** a couple, right?"

Bayley let out a small giggle, trying to keep the boys from overhearing, "What? No! They're just besties and roomies. What makes you think they're together?"

Carmella didn't even try to hide her surprise as the denial, "You don't see it? Just look at 'em! They might as well be co-letting their personal space!"

Bayley frowned slightly, trying to look over at Finn and Sami without being too obvious. Judging by the fact that Finn grinned and waved over at her suggested she failed. She meekly waved back, before turning back to Carmella.

"I mean…they are looking through the same section over there," Bayley reasoned, "'Course they're gonna be next to each other for that…"

"They're leaning into each other!" Carmella countered, "Finn's practically resting his head on Sami's shoulder!"

"Well, like, maybe he's a bit tired?"

"Finn has his hand on Sami's lower back! That's the couples' spot!"

"Okay, that's just silly…" Bayley sounded far less convinced than she was letting on, "Sure you're not just seeing things?"

"It just looks obvious to me, s'all," Carmella shrugged, watching a rather sheepish looking clerk approach the increasingly frustrated looking Sami, "Though I guess if you're not lookin' for it…apparently Cass and I were kinda the same deal before Enzo pointed it out to us. Might have still been dancin' around each other if Enzo hadn't told Colin to man-up, like."

"You're saying that they might more-than-like-like each other, but haven't realized it yet?"

Carmella thought about Bayley's question for a second, before nodding in agreement, "Maybe…just seem like they fit together too well to be just buddies."

"Huh. Wow, I guess that does kinda make sense," Bayley grinned, totally aboard with Carmella's way of thinking, "So…uh…what now?"

"Good question," Carmella tapped the side of her face thoughtfully, "How do we get those two idiots together?"

"I mean, should we interfere?" Bayley tilted her head, thinking about it for a second, "We probably shouldn't interfere. Sami's the kind of guy who'd probably be against that. Finn would definitely rather figure that out for himself..."

"And then hum-and-haw and do nothing about it until it's too late?"

"…yeah, actually…" Bayley sighed, "Let's give it a while yet, okay? Just to make sure it's more than your hunch speaking."

"Fine, but you owe me a caramel latté for figuring this all out for you."

Bayley began to object, but a distinctly Canadian accented groan distracted her from her thoughts. Carmella and Bayley both looked over to see a very crestfallen looking Sami Zayn sink down to the floor, with Finn immediately kneeling down beside him, comforting hand already on Sami's shoulder.

"Oh dear."

* * *

"They said they had one copy left in stock, Finn…" Sami mumbled despondently.

Finn rubbed Sami's shoulder in support, "They did."

"Said they'd hold on to it for me…"

"They did."

Sami actually growled at that, "No, _they_ **_didn't_** …sold it the second I was off the 'phone, probably."

Finn nodded solemnly, "Bastards."

"Absolute **_bastards_** …" Sami muttered in agreement, looking up at the sound of footfalls. He internally winced as he saw it was the ladies, "Ah, sorry for the language faux-pas."

"5 Brothers, and my boyfriend's best friend is Enzo Amore," Carmella replied flippantly, "Nothing you can say will shock me."

"Oh, right, gotcha," Sami nodded solemnly, looking up towards Bayley, "Looks like you get the solitary apology rights this time."

"No worries," Bayley joined Sami and Finn on the floor, "I take it they don't have the record after all?"

Sami's groan of disappointment was the only answer Bayley was likely to get from him.

"S'okay Sami, you'll find it eventually," Finn soothed, gently massaging the crook of Sami's neck.

"Should've had it today…" Sami sighed, realization painfully setting in, "They _lied_ to me."

"See if we come back here again," Finn defiantly looked around, eyes locked on the retreating store clerk, "C'mon Sami, no point staying in this house of lies any longer."

"'kay…"

Finn stood up first, offering his hand to help Sami up. Sami took the aid gratefully, hoisting himself off the floor before heading towards the exit, a dejected tone to his gait. Finn rushed over to catch up, once again setting a comforting hand on Sami's lower back. Sami immediately leaned into the touch as the two headed off towards the café. Bayley stood up soon afterwards, dusting off her knees and trying very hard to ignore Carmella's knowing glance in her direction.

"Still just a hunch, huh?" She grinned wickedly at Bayley, who rolled her eyes in response.

"Just looking out for each other?" Bayley offered her desperately weak response.

Carmella chuckled softly as she began to walk off after the boys, "Whatever you say, Bay. C'mon, caramel latté time."


	2. Big Red

After taking in all of Carmella's observations, it was impossible for Bayley not to notice all the little things between the two of them. Carmella was right, darn her; you just had to be looking for the tell-tale signs. The table at the café had more than enough room for all four of them, but Finn scooched his chair just a bit to be nearer Sami. The grin on Sami's face when Finn brought him a commiseratory blueberry muffin could easily have been attributed to Sami just liking muffins before today…but the grin was most **definitely** targeted at Finn instead of the other tasty treat. They had always been somewhat tactile with each other, which is why Bayley considered all the back rubs and shoulder squeezes as nothing more than friendly gestures (and heck, Bayley hugged them all the time, and that was most definitely platonic)…the hi-five after a particularly rotten joke about Irishmen in bars was perfectly fine, the hurried jolt back when their fingertips accidentally brushed together on the table was more telling.

As the two guys wandered off to Sami's car to head home, Bayley immediately rounded on Carmella, "How did I miss all this before? How are _they_ missing all this?"

"Told ya so!" Carmella triumphantly snapped her fingers, "I refuse to believe Cass and I were ever that dense. Think we should set Enzo on them too?"

"Hey now, let's not get too crazy," Bayley chuckled, "They've got to figure it out sooner or later. Maybe drop a few hints here and there, let them think it was all their idea."

Carmella could only sigh dramatically in retort.

* * *

The opportunity for "Operation: Drop It Like It's Hint" came remarkably sooner than Bayley was expecting. It was barely past ten o'clock the following morning when her phone started beeping, which turned out to be a text from Finn.

"heee~eey bayley, you busy at the mo?"

Finn's inability to use capital letters in his texts always amused her.

"Always got time for the Finn-Man, whassup?"

"need a favour, can I come over?"

Bayley didn't have too much time to ponder what Finn was up to after confirming she was home and that Finn could come over anytime. A hurried knock on her door alerted her to the Irishman's presence. One quick check through the peephole to make sure that, yes, it was Finn and… _wait…_

Bayley found herself unable to keep the giggles in when she opened the door to reveal a breathless looking Finn and his prized red bicycle, "Dude, did you seriously walk that bike all the way up to my apartment? There _are_ bike racks outside, y'know?"

"And leave Big Red all alone outside in the harsh Florida sun? You're crazy," Finn scoffed as Bayley stepped aside to let him into the apartment.

"Big Red? _Really_ Finn?"

"What? I like red; it's a wonderful colour for all sorts of things."

"Is it now?" Bayley smiled coyly, leading Finn into the main living area.

Bayley gave Finn a couple of moments to settle down, checking if he wanted anything to eat/drink ("Just some water, kind of belted it up the road and it's hot as hell out there."), before curiosity took over.

"So, favour-seeker, what's the deal?" Bayley inquired as Finn's expression suddenly turned quite serious.

"Right, uh," Finn fished around in his pockets for a second, before pulling out a piece of paper and handing it over to Bayley. She took a quick look at the hastily scrawled note, scrunching her nose up in confusion.

"These are clearly words, but…"

"It's the album Sami was looking for yesterday."

"Riiight," Bayley turned the paper around, wondering briefly if she was holding it upside-down, "So…"

"So since neither of us are particularly busy today," Finn clapped his hands together and smiled hopefully at Bayley, "I thought maybe we could try tracking it down somewhere else for him? He's still really upset about it, and I don't like seeing my Sami sad at all if I can help it."

Bayley quirked an eyebrow at Finn's casual 'my Sami,' but if Finn noticed he clearly didn't show it. Instead, he continued on with his masterplan.

"Like, I'm obviously more familiar with Sami's style of music…but you know the area better, so maybe you'd know some other places we could try?"

Bayley let out a small 'hmm' as she thought about it, "Well…uh, most of the music places I know of are pretty mainstream…don't think they'd carry Sami's kind of music. I wouldn't have even known about that place if Sami hadn't tracked it down…and he probably would have checked all the nearby places since he wanted it so badly…"

Bayley trailed off as she glanced over at Finn, whose enthusiasm had visibly deflated with every passing word. Bayley immediately scrambled to think of viable alternatives before he began pouting, "But we can always check online, see if there's anywhere he could've missed?"

"Oh! Right, the internet…uh…" Finn looked incredibly sheepish, "Well, your Google-fu is stronger than mine..."

"Fine, let me get my tablet…" Bayley huffed playfully as she went to retrieve said item, "How can a man of this generation be so hopeless with technology?"

"I manage my Twitter just fine!" Finn countered, "Stop mocking my shortcomings, you don't see me mocking your lack of knowledge of the supernatural."

"Can I at least trust you to phone these places I'm gonna look up?" Bayley sat down beside Finn, tablet in one hand, phone being dropped in Finn's lap with no warning. Finn fumbled to grab the phone as Bayley logged on, "Okay, let's see what we can find…"

* * *

Turns out, they found very little. Of all the specialist stores nearby that regularly carried Punk and Ska albums, none of them had the album Sami was after. Most of said stores voiced their surprise at Finn being the second person to enquire for it so recently, which proved Bayley's theory of Sami frantically phoning everywhere entirely correct.

"I'm beginning to doubt this record was ever actually released," Finn muttered as he placed the phone back down on Bayley's couch.

"Oh, it totally was," Bayley turned her tablet round to face Finn, "Wiki says it was a semi-limited release to commemorate the band's anniversary, I think?"

"Of course it was," Finn let his head fall backwards in defeat, "Sure there's no more places hidden away in some shady backlot somewhere?"

Bayley scrolled through the list of records stores one more time, frowning slightly at the results, "…well, there is one more place, but it's not exactly 'local'. I mean, it's not like 'next state over' far away, but still…"

Finn quickly picked up the phone, interrupting Bayley in the process, "What's the phone number, then?"

Bayley quickly rattled off the phone number, leaning back in the couch to get comfortable once more. Finn rolled through the same lines she'd heard all morning, awaiting the inevitable downcast gaze of disappointment once more.

The sudden smile on Finn's face was a pleasant turn of events, all in all.

"You do?!" Finn broke into an unmanly squeal as he shot up off the couch excitedly, "Amazing! Look, I'll be over as soon as I can…please, _please_ , **_please_** keep it back for me? It's a gift for a very important person. Yeah, it's Bálor…Finn. Fantastic, thank you! Yes!"

Finn quickly grabbed Bayley's hand and gently pulled her up, laughing all whilst engulfing her in a big hug.

"Great work, detective Bayley," Finn beamed as he released Bayley from the hug, "Right, okay, just need the address of the place and I'll cycle on over there and…"

"Finn, this place is like two hours away by bus…I tried to tell you…" Bayley sighed, "I dunno if cycling all that way there and back in this heat is a good idea, but…"

"…okay, so…bus schedules?" Finn turned and pointed wildly at the tablet Bayley had dropped on the couch, "Sami was right, should've stuck with those driving lessons…stupid lane differences from Ireland, I tell you…"

A rattling sound distracted Finn from his wild gesticulations. He glanced over at Bayley, who was holding up several keyrings, mostly small fluffy toys and smiley faces…there _may_ have been a key or two in there somewhere.

"Or I could drive us over, like I was trying to suggest…"

Finn breathed a sigh of relief, "You are an amazing and precious person, too good for this world."

"You totally owe me one for this, Finn Bálor."

"Duly noted."


	3. Road Trip!

The problem with long car-rides, Bayley mused to herself, is keeping your passengers from being completely bored. Finn seemed content to just watch the world go by, but for how long?

Besides, one-on-one with Finn, where said Finn has no real escape options? Time to test the waters on the Sami/Finn relationship…

"So, uh, how was Sami when you left this morning?" Bayley asked softly.

"Eh…brave face was on, breakfast ignored…I'd say he's closer to 'disappointed at Neville after Fatal 4-Way' than 'Kevin's sudden but inevitable betrayal' level of sad...he said he was going to work on some promotional stuff for the fans over in the Middle East," Finn sighed, "And if he's busy working, that's as good an excuse as any for getting out of his hair. He waved me off with a smile, at least."

"We're gonna be gone a while, maybe send him a quick text in case he starts worrying?"

"Ooh, good idea…" Finn quickly grabbed his phone, and then meticulously began texting, "Think we'll have time for lunch while we're out there in there in the back-o-beyond?"

"I'm sure we can find time for you to treat me to lunch, yes."

"Good…wait, **what?** " Finn somehow managed to audibly double-take, but his flustered confusion was interrupted by the alert sound from his phone. He read out Sami's reply, if only to avoid the subject of paying for lunch, "… _'Okay, you crazy kids have fun out there! Bring me back a present or something_?'…oh, if only he knew!"

"Mm-hmm, you're seriously trying out for Bestie Of The Year for this one," Bayley grinned at Finn's nervous chuckle.

"Actually, speaking of 'besties' that reminds me…something I wanted to ask ya about yesterday," Finn fully turned away from the window to face Bayley, "You and Carmella kept on looking over at us and laughing about something in the music shop…and from previous experience with my sister's friends, that's usually a bad sign. What was that all about?"

"Oh! Right, well…" _Imagination, don't fail me now_ , "Well, Carmella was wondering if you two were seeing anybody or not…you know how she gets when she's bored, looking for all the personal deets."

 _Yes! Not even a hint of a lie!_

"…she was pretty surprised when I said you two weren't. Seeing anybody, I mean."

"Huh, well I was all worried over nothin' then." Finn mused.

"Don't be too sure, I'm fairly certain Carm's planning on setting the two of you up at some point."

 _Also not a lie! 2 out of 2!_

Finn suddenly looked a shade paler, "…uh, you'll try and stop her from doing that…right? She's got some _pretty_ wild friends."

"I promise you from the bottom of my heart, I will not let Carmella set you up on a date of any kind."

Finn caught his breath, looking relieved.

Until Bayley's next comment.

"Come to think of it…I don't think you've actually dated anyone in all the time I've known you? Nobody you got your Irish eyes on at the mo?"

"Oh…well, you know me…my life's in the ring, like." Finn mumbled, immediately turning away to look out the window again, "Don't really have time to think about that stuff…"

"I guess it's the same for Sami…amazing that someone that compassionate is still single…" Bayley grinned to herself, she wasn't known for being the most subtle person in the world, but that was some masterful dot connecting, "I get it though, no harm in focusing on trynna be the best in the ring. There's plenty of time to find someone. Could happen when you least expect it."

Finn let out a noncommittal hum, "Yeah, well…enough about my non-existent love life, how's Aaron doing? You two planning any getaways soon?"

"Hopefully! It's a pain to get our schedules to sync up, but we're hoping to get together to visit some friends soon."

"I'm always meaning to ask if he's okay with all our antics during live events. I'm not crossing any boundaries, am I?"

"Nah, he's cool with it, otherwise I'd have stopped it immediately," Bayley laughed softly to herself at a particular memory, "Told me he lost it when you came out copying my entrance that one time. He respects you a lot, ya know."

"Cool. He's really talented…hope he manages to get a proper shot one day."

"Dude, that would be awesome," Bayley cheered, "He's determined to do it on his own merits, so I'm not allowed to drop any hints to the chief or anything…but I'd love to see you and him in a match one day."

"Heh…yeah," Finn agreed, "Hey, any idea who you're gonna be facing in the next live shows yet?"

"Not really? Hopefully I'll get to tag with Carmella again at some point," Bayley thought about all the women on the roster…she relished the challenge that each could potentially bring, "How about you? Any dream matches for our next tour?"

"I'd like to face Tye, like everyone to see how good he really is…but Jason's been hinting that it's about time Sami and I finally had a one-on-one contest," Bayley could have sworn she saw Finn grimace out of the corner of her eye, "Suppose it could be interesting?"

"The two best wrestlers we have on the roster in one match and the best descriptive adjective you can come up with is 'interesting?' You two would totally rock the house! Nothing wrong with friends competing in the ring…Carmella and I have had some wars, you know."

"Yeah, I know…and I **have** been looking forward to facing Sami in the ring at some point," Finn sighed, "The fans will love it…it's just…I dunno, I guess I'd rather team up with him than fight him? I tried to suggest that once, but haven't heard anything back since…don't **understand** why **anyone'd** be against it…imagine how good a match between us and Jason and Chad would be? How entertaining we could be opposite Enzo and Cass? Why isn't this even being **considered** as a possibility?"

Finn's voice had been rising slightly higher with each passing word, and Bayley suddenly felt very worried for her friend's blood pressure levels, "Uh, you okay over there buddy?"

If Finn had heard her question, he didn't stop to acknowledge it, "We're closer than just about anyone else on the Roster, and they won't let us team up…you get to team up with Carmella all the time, you and I have gotten to tag a few times…Sami and I have never gotten that chance yet, and I don't understand why not!? We'd be so **good** together!"

Finn let his head fall back on the head-rest, suddenly looking weary. Bayley hadn't been expecting that sudden outburst at the end…how long had Finn been sitting on these feelings, keeping them bottled up like that? She felt her heart break for the Irishman, who didn't seem to notice how much he might have just let slip. Finn had closed his eyes, both hands rubbing his temple. Bayley had always known how passionate Finn got about wrestling, but this was the first time she'd experienced that level of intensity from another subject entirely. Sami nearly breaking his Lego spaceship came kinda close, but this was on a whole new level. She was worried for whoever the poor soul that might defeat Finn for the NXT Title if this was any indication of a reaction.

"Damn, Bayley…sorry about that, uh..." Finn took a few deep breaths, trying to regain his composure, "What were we talking about again?"

"How good you and Sami would be together," Bayley hurriedly continued, "As a team."

Finn sighed sadly, "Oh, yeah...a tag team. Yeah, s'all I meant."

"Well if it helps, you two would be great together," Bayley replied in as encouraging a tone she could manage, pulling up to stop at a red light, "…and when it happens, it'll be really amazing."

Finn looked over at Bayley with the most earnest, hopeful look she had ever seen on another human being, "You think so?"

Bayley merely smiled at her friend knowingly, "Of course I do. Whatever happens, you know I'll be right there cheering you on…and Finn?"

"Yeah?"

"If you ever need to rant or talk or whenever something's bothering you…I'll be there for you. So no more yelling, okay?"

"That really means a lot," Finn managed a small smile for his best gal-pal, "Thank you, Bayley."

"Anytime, Finn."


	4. Fashion Distraction

" _hey, bayley and i have some errands to do this afternoon…"_  
 _"might be a while, plz don't worry if we're late..."_  
 _"ps, stay out of my lego den. mean it ;)"_

Sami frowned as he re-read the texts. He'd just finished off working on some of the promos for the Middle Eastern fans, and that had cheered him up a bit. It still felt a bit weird to be considered a sort-of ambassador for the WWE over there, but also incredibly humbling and fulfilling. Now that it was done, he was hoping he could grab some lunch with Finn, maybe as a kind of apology for being such a sad-sack…but that idea had well and truly been torpedoed.

Also, _come on_ , he'd placed _one_ Lego brick in the wrong place on Finn's space shuttle. **One**. Barred for life seemed pretty harsh punishment.

Ah well, no point on dwelling over being abandoned by his best friend…not like he could blame Finn for choosing to hang out with Bayley instead of his mopey ass-butt. He quickly sent back a text to Finn encouraging him to have fun, before wondering what he was going to do for the rest of the day. He wasn't due to report back to the Performance Centre until tomorrow, and without his two favourite work-out partners backing him up Sami felt less inclined to be a good boy and turn up for some extra training.

It hadn't escaped Sami's attention that the bookers seemed to be pairing up Finn and Bayley a lot more on the live shows these days. It made sense, they were the two champions of the brand, and they **should** be featured the most. Despite Jason's assertions that Sami'd get to work with Finn very soon, he still felt a little… _not jealous, nope, not going there_ …miffed that those two got to goof around together so often…Titanic parodies, Dirty Dancing re-enactments…copying each others' entrances…Sami wearing Bayley's "I'm A Hugger" T-Shirt that one time was as close as he got...and no offense to Bayley, wonderful and amazing person as she was...but that hadn't been with _Finn_.

It was always Finn and Bayley...

They really seemed to fit together.

A little _too_ well?

No. C'mon, don't be a silly Sami…Bayley's with her long-term boyfriend and Finn would never consider coming between a couple like that. Too noble.

Thankfully, Sami was brought out of his thoughts by his mobile ringing. A quick glance revealed it was the "StnIslndPrincess" herself calling. Huh, not like Carmella to actually call when she usually bombards people with several emojis.

"Heylow Carmella, what can I do for her majesty today?"

"Can you **believe** those two have _ditched_ us? What is _actually_ up with that? Letting those two run loose without adult supervision is just asking for trouble!"

"Carmella, chill," Sami tried desperately not to laugh at how sincerely exasperated she sounded at the whole situation, "Bayley does not, in fact, need written permission to go out on her own. Finn is 33 years old, and is very good at pretending to be an adult. They will be fine."

"Hah! You're sounding more cheery, at least," Carmella's aggravation began to soften slightly.

"Yeah, well, it was a bit silly of me to get so worked up over a clerical error," Sami hoped he sounded more convincing that he felt, "Need to save all that emotion for when I get my hands on Kevin again."

"Oh, don't try to be all _c'est la vie_ with me, Zayn, you have no emotional safeguards," Carmella clearly was not buying it, but was also clearly happy to drop the subject, "Anyway, since our best friends are hanging out behind our backs, wanna catch lunch with us?"

"Us?"

"D'uh, me, Cass and his manchild," Carmella sighed, "C'mon, please? I need someone _kinda_ normal there to help keep Amore in check."

Suddenly, a perfect distraction to any and all unsettling thoughts has presented itself, "Well…I s'ppose helping to babysit Enzo would help keep my mind off things…"

"Perfect! We'll swing on over and pick you up in ten to twenty."

* * *

Sami felt his jaw drop as the group walked into the establishment chosen for their lunch. Foosball tables…air hockey…skee-ball…crane games…oh, and a little area in the corner which may have served food. They were barely through the doors before Enzo stomped off excitedly towards the mini-games.

Sami could only shake his head fondly, before turning to address Carmella and Cass, "Okay, which of you two let Enzo pick where we were eating?"

"Hey, you wanna deal with a bored Enzo?" Cass countered, "Last time he got bored and wandered off, found him ridin' around the place on a toy leopard."

Sami tilted his head quizzically, "The fact I completely believe that without question disturbs me…tell me there is video footage of this?"

"Carm, show 'em your phone," Cass laughed fondly as Carmella had already started swiping to look for said video footage, "I'm gonna go make sure 'Zo doesn't wreck the joint. Gonna save us a booth?"

"Course," Carmella confirmed, somewhat distracted as she handed her phone over to Sami, "Play nice, boys."

The two exchanged a brief kiss before Cass rushed after Enzo. Carmella waited patiently for Sami to finish laughing his hat off before dragging him over towards the food court.

"No, seriously, I don't know what to focus on here…" Sami chuckled, pointing at the phone excitedly, "The doofy leopard! Those shorts! Oh, dear, the look that little girl gave Enzo as he passed! Why is this not all over the internet already?"

"Waiting for just the right time for maximum humiliation," Carmella smirked, taking her phone back from Sami, "So, what d'ya fancy?"

Sami's giggles suddenly made way for a coughing fit, "…uh…'scuse me?"

"What do you want to eat, what didja think I meant?" Carmella replied, full of innocence, "I'm thinkin' grilled chicken salad."

"Oh…right, pass the menu over, wouldja?"

"Somethin' else on your mind there, Samuel?" Carmella asked knowingly, passing over the menu to Sami.

Sami groaned inwardly…this was _exactly_ the kind of thing he'd come along to forget about.

"I dunno…my mind's taking me some strange places lately?" Sami offered, scanning the menu for something relatively healthy. He wasn't expecting much given his surroundings, but it was worth a shot, "Maybe Kevin knocked a few screws loose and I'm only realising it now."

Sami scanned the menu for a few more seconds, before his head shot up suddenly and he glared at Carmella, "'Sami' is **not** short for 'Samuel.'"

Carmella laughed softly at the pure look of indignation being shot in her direction. Luckily for her, Sami's face crumpled slightly, before he started laughing along with her.

"Okay, I needed that," Sami grinned, "Thanks."

"Hey Zayn, quit goofin' off over there!" Sami and Carmella both turned to see Enzo waving his arms to get their attention, "C'mon, you and I gotta school Cass at foos."

"Looks like we're not eating right away," Sami sighed, placing the menu back down, before moving over to help Carmella out of her chair, "How bad is Enzo at foosball?"

"About as bad as his fashion sense, I'd say."

"Well, damn…uh, how good are _you_ at foosball?"

"Whupped all my brothers regularly," Carmella replied triumphantly.

"...yay."

* * *

After Enzo and Sami's inevitable trouncing at foosball by Carmella and Cass, the group moved on to the air hockey table. Sami found himself far more in his element, being the most nimble of the group he found himself jumping around the table to make saves and reflect the puck away from the goal. Enzo merely stepped back and shouted encouragement to Sami as he easily fended off both Carmella and Cass' attempts to score.

"Yeah, bro, told ya we'd school these chumps at the hockey!" Enzo cheered, hi-fiving Sami as he began dancing victoriously around the table.

" **You** did nothin' of the sort," Carmella rolled her eyes, "Good game, Sami."

"Woo, yeah, shoulda known you couldn't whup a Canuck at any kind of hockey," Cass agreed, fist-bumping the victorious Sami.

"Yeah, the ginger ninja is unstoppable," Enzo also swapped a fist-bump with Cass and Sami, "Forget Neville, Sami Zayn is the realest Red Arrow in the room."

"If we ignore the whole loseball situation from earlier, then I'd say this day has been a total sporting success," Sami grinned, "So, food now..?"

"Yeah, gotta get my strength up and runnin' to retain my status as **the** skee-ball superstar," Enzo declared proudly, "Let's eat!"

Lunch continued to be a light-hearted affair. Carmella stuck to her guns and went with the grilled chicken salad, but the boys decided to split a pizza. It was easy enough to justify, given that tomorrow was a Performance Centre day…and Cass and Sami had just spent the last hour diving around tables playing games…and ain't nobody tellin' Enzo Amore he can't have some pizza pie.

Carmella grinned as the three boys bickered amongst themselves, taking the opportunity to check her phone. She'd felt it vibrate in her pocket soon after their game of Air Hockey had finished but was too busy admonishing Enzo for being a sore winner to check it. She wasn't surprised to find it was a text from Bayley.

" _Okay, so Finn kinda-sorta admitted he wants to be with Sami?"_

 _Kinda?_ Carmella wrinkled her nose, _you either do or you don't. No room for indecision in romance, Bay._

Before she could actually text a reply along those lines, another text from Bayley came in.

" _He's actually comparing socks to see which have more white polka dots on them. Send help."_

Carmella felt a small nudge from beside her, "Sorry Cass," Carmella smiled as she put her phone away, "Just news from the Bay."

"Those two goobers havin' fun?" Cass asked.

"Finn's found polka dot socks," Carmella laughed as Sami groaned, "How many pairs does one man need, anyway?"

"I'm not sure he owns any other kind anymore," Sami sighed, "Hard to believe Finn was an Armani model once upon a time…they definitely didn't gift him any socks."

"Are we _seriously_ talkin' about socks right now?" Enzo shook his head, tossing a crust back onto the plate, "Anyway, you can't talk anything about fashion, Mr. Crop Top Belly Shirt."

"One time! And only 'cause CJ dared me!" Sami retorted quickly, ignoring the laughter from across the table as much as he could, "I got free sides at the grill house outta that crop top!"

Cass chuckled, "Was it really worth it Zayn? Y'know photographic evidence of this tragedy exists?"

"Look, do you have _any idea_ how hard it is to find loaded potato skins with no ham in them around these parts?" Sami pouted as the laughter finally began to calm down _slightly_ , "Definitely worth exposing my poor tummy to the Floridian sunshine."

* * *

Sure enough the second they were finished eating Enzo was stomping off towards the skee-ball games. Cass sighed playfully, getting up to once again keep tabs on his buddy, "You two comin' with?"

"Sure, try not to destroy him too badly though," Carmella grinned at Cass, "We've had a good time today, let's try and avoid an Enzo sulk."

Turns out that skee-ball is a surprisingly good after-lunch activity. Not too demanding on a full stomach, competitive enough to be interesting. Enzo and Cass were furiously trying to outdo each other, leaving Carmella and Sami to play the game at a more leisurely pace.

"So, you feelin' any better?" Carmella asked Sami between rolls, "Head a bit clearer now?"

"Yeah…we all need a good goof-off every now and then…so, yeah, I'm feeling better. Thanks for today, Carm."

"Hey, it was for completely selfish reasons, no need to thank me."

Sami didn't quite believe her, but let it go anyway. The two looked over briefly as Enzo began to sputter indignities, whilst Cass tried his hardest not to completely dunk Enzo at skee-ball. Carmella smiling brightly at Cass whenever they made eye contact, and Sami couldn't help but feel happy for his friends. It must have been nice to finally find that person who always makes you feel that good whenever they're around. He might even have been jealous of them once upon a time, but Sami had someone like that in his life too…

… _wait, no, that's a completely different situation._

Sami groaned as his last ball went flying off into the empty space of nul points.

… _isn't it?_

He looked over at Carmella, who had just thrown her last ball up the ramp. An internal battle waged within Sami's head…it was entirely possible he could go on with his life, attempting blissful ignorance…or he could do as he usually did when in the ring, go for absolute broke, take a chance…

 _What's the worst that could happen?_

"Um…Carmella, d'ya mind if I ask a bit of a personal question?"

"Depends on how personal you're gonna get."

"Nothing gross, I promise," Sami grimaced slightly, wondering if he was going to regret asking, "Just…when did you figure out you had feelings for Cass?"

Carmella looked over at Sami, seeing the conflict written all over his face. Looks like the time for antics was over, "Wasn't really a case of figuring it out, it just happened naturally. Didn't just wake up one day and think 'y'know, we should totally be dating.' I kinda began thinkin' about it when I started feeling a little jealous whenever Cass and Enzo would hang out all the time, felt like the third wheel sometimes."

"Oh. Yeah, I can understand that," Sami sighed. _All too well_.

"Course, I had nothing to worry about," Carmella smiled fondly at the two best friends in front of her, "Enzo was never competition, he had figured us out long before we had a clue. Gave Cass a nudge in the right direction, and here we are."

Sami thought carefully before asking his next question, "But what if there wasn't someone there to give a nudge like that?"

"Sami, everybody figures this stuff out at their own pace. We'd have gotten there eventually, it might've taken a bit longer sure…but if something's there, then it'll come out sooner or later. You don't have to rush it, just let it flow naturally."

Sami nodded solemnly, looking down at the ground, "It'll happen when it happens, eh?"

"If it's meant to be, yeah."

There was a moment of silence between the two, the only noise being Enzo's exasperated grunts as he found himself on the losing end of this skee-ball round.

"For what it's worth Sami, whoever it is you're thinkin' about?" Sami looked over at Carmella, "They'd be an idiot not to feel the same way about you."

Sami let out a nervous laugh. Carmella had seen right through him this whole time.

"And hey, you ever need someone to give that person a nudge in the right direction? I'm your girl."

"You'd be a much safer option than Enzo, that's for sure," Sami's laugh was a little more genuine this time, "I think I need to think it through a bit more, make sure it's not just my imagination running wild. This is something that I need to be absolutely sure of…I appreciate the offer, though."

"Anytime, Samuel."

" _Carmella_ …"

"Not even sorry, Sami."


	5. Stage One Complete

"I still can't believe you dragged me out of that clothes store."

Bayley looked up from her bowl of strawberry ice-cream to look up at Finn…the petulant tone to his voice had immediately caught her attention, but even then she was not expecting Finn Bálor, man who tapped into the Demon side of himself on a semi-regular basis, to actually be _pouting_ at her.

"Finn…okay, first of all you were the one who demanded we stop for lunch on our way here," Bayley waved her spoon in Finn's general direction, "Second, we have to be getting back soon…we're back at the Performance Centre first thing tomorrow morning, remember. Third…"

"How long is this list of yours going to be?"

"Thirdly!" Bayley ignored Finn's comment completely, "You do not need any more of those socks, even if they are cute. Fourth…don't we have a special delivery to make as soon as possible?"

Bayley pointed vaguely at the bag Finn was currently clutching close to his chest, as if it were a sacred relic…like the vinyl equivalent of the Holy Grail.

"Oh! Right, of course," Finn grinned, "Is Sami still out with Enzo and the others?"

Bayley quickly checked her phone, "As far as I can tell? Carmella hasn't texted me back yet…guess they got caught up in the games."

"He'll probably be back before us," Finn mused, "Guess we should hurry up and finish."

"Well, you'd probably have an easier time eating if you weren't gripping the bag like a tag rope," Bayley suggested, "You could put it down and…"

"Absolutely **not** ," Finn interrupted quickly, "No, what if the record gets scratched or _broken_ if I put it down? Nope, I'm keeping hold of this like it's the One Ring."

Bayley shook her head fondly. The record store employee had offered to let Finn check the record in-store, but he was afraid of potentially ruining it and left it up to Bayley to inspect it. Once she was satisfied, and the album placed securely back in its sleeve, Finn had refused to let it go. Even in the clothes shop, with its _way too many_ varieties of dotted socks, Finn had kept the bag in one hand whilst inspecting the socks with the other.

"I can't wait to see the look on Sami's face when he sees this," Finn continued, in-between nibbling on carrot sticks, "Y'think he'll be mad we didn't invite him?"

"Woulda kinda ruined the whole 'surprise' aspect of the gift, Finn," Bayley grinned, "You said he was working anyway…"

"Oh, yeah…guess that's true."

Once Finn had finally finished his lunch, they packed up and started to head back towards Bayley's car. However, Bayley suddenly found herself walking alone. She turned around frantically looking for Finn, and let out a loud groan when she spotted him.

"FINN BÁLOR, STEP _AWAY_ FROM THE SOCKS RIGHT **NOW** , MISTER!"

* * *

"Sami's gonna kill me for this…"

"You were powerless to stop me, muahaha," Finn flashed a victory smile, now happily carrying a bag full of polka dot socks next to Sami's vinyl record.

* * *

The car-ride back was substantially more subdued than the trip to the mall. Finn had been quite eager in heading back to begin with, but as time passed he became increasingly more fidgety. Bayley couldn't get a good look over at Finn, but she couldn't help but notice Finn holding the record slightly closer to his chest…a somewhat pensive look on his face.

"Finn, you've got that look on your face like when you see clowns heading towards you," Bayley shook her head slightly, "What's got you all scared over there?"

"…do you really think Sami will mind that we went and got this without him?"

"Oh for…Finn!" Bayley quickly checked to see if there was a safe place to pull over, indicating that she was turning into a small parking lot outside a local hotel. As soon as she parked the car, she rounded on a suddenly worried looking Finn, "Finn, listen to me. Sami is not going to be upset that you went and did this extremely nice thing for him. Trust me!"

"It's just…well, if it wasn't for Carmella, he'd have been all alone all day…is he going to be upset that I left him alone whilst he was unhappy?"

"You told Sami you were heading out, correct?"

"Yes…"

"Did he seem to mind then?"

"…no?"

"Did he ask you to stay?"

"…he didn't."

"Did he, or did he not, wave you off with a smile like you said earlier?"

"…he did."

"Was he upset when you sent him that text earlier?"

"…he told us to have fun."

"Well then!"

Finn's worried look had slowly morphed into one of pure embarrassment with each of Bayley's questions. Bayley reached over to give Finn the closest approximation to a hug she could from her current position.

Finn chuckled derisively to himself, a wry smile eventually forming, "…I'm an idiot, aren't I?"

"A complete and utter idiot, yes," Bayley nodded in solemn agreement, "If Sami wasn't fine, Carmella would have said something. He's had a good day out with his friends, and you've got him one heck of a present…safe to say he's probably going to be over his disappointment from yesterday soon enough."

"…but, what if…?"

"Finn, I can't pretend to know what's going on in your mind right now and how you may or may not be feeling…all I know is you went and got your best friend something he _really_ wanted to cheer him up. Why does it have to be more complicated than that?"

Finn took a moment to contemplate Bayley's reply, before nodding in agreement, "Guess I was overthinking things, huh?"

"Just a bit, but it's only natural to worry about the people we care about the most. I'm sure if the situation was reversed, Sami'd be acting the exact same way."

Finn seemed to perk up a bit at that, "Yeah, 'course he would. Sami wouldn't let his friends down, and I'm not ever gonna let Sami down."

"Attaboy, Finn," Bayley smiled warmly, putting the car in gear to head back on to the road, "Let's go cheer your boy up."

* * *

"Bayley, where are we going?" Finn looked out of the car window, a puzzled look on his face, "This isn't the way back to ours? Why are we going to your place?"

Bayley gasped in faux-shock, "Finn, haven't you forgotten something important?"

"What could be more important than getting home to see Sami?"

"…okay, it's not quite that important, no," Bayley admitted, "But you left Big Red at my place, remember?"

From the look of surprise on Finn's face, it seemed that, yes, he had indeed forgotten his prized bicycle was currently resting in Bayley's apartment.

"So we'll go pick her up, and _then_ we'll head over to your place."

* * *

"Thanks for coming out with us today, Sami."

Sami grinned widely at Carmella from the backseat of Cass' car. Cass had parked outside Sami and Finn's apartment, ready to drop Sami back home. The conversation over skee-ball had been a real eye-opener, and for now Sami felt content in knowing he could work through whatever feelings he had in his own time. The group had all had one shot each on the crane games before they left, but only Sami had won anything…a stuffed Finn the Human toy from Adventure Time. He'd decided to give it to actual Human Finn for a laugh, and currently had the toy clutched close to his chest.

"Yeah man, had a real blast," Enzo added, "Thought our last day off before goin' back to school woulda been a bummer, but now I'm all ready to get back on the quest for glory."

"Well, after today, I think going back to training will be a comparative breeze," Sami honestly couldn't stop smiling, "if not nearly as much fun."

"Rest up, Zayn, 'cause we're gonna work hard as much as we played hard today," Cass' voice was filled with determination, "We've got chumps to stain and titles to win."

"You got it," Sami's grin faltered slightly…getting back the NXT Title was his ultimate goal, but that meant going through Finn to do so, and hoo boy did his latest revelations make that a horrendously more complicated situation than before, "Thanks again, guys. See ya at the PC tomorrow."

Carmella patted Sami on the shoulder in sympathy. _Of course_ , Sami thought, if Carmella was to achieve her goal of becoming the Woman's Champion, she'd have to defeat Bayley. Sami never realised just how much he had in common with the Princess of Staten Island before today, "'Night, Zayn."

Sami stood on the sidewalk, waving his friends goodbye as they drove off. He waited until the car was out of sight, before sighing softly and heading in to his apartment.

* * *

Sami let out an exhausted sigh as he sat down on his couch, but a sigh that was also filled with contentment. He'd been completely honest when he told Carmella he needed that day out, even if he didn't realise just how much he needed it until he mentioned it. A nice relaxing time out with friends before going back to work tomorrow…the only thing that would've made the day out any better would have been…

Well, if Finn had been there…and Bayley, of course.

But _mostly_ Finn.

Sami blinked in surprise as his phone suddenly lit up from its position on the table; he looked down to see Bayley's profile pic staring up at him, indicating the High Priestess of Hug-Life was calling.

"Hey Bayley, how goes your little expedition?"

"Actually, we're done! Finn's just grabbing his bike from my apartment and we'll be heading over soon. We're just checking to see if you're back home or not?"

"Yep, Carm and her boys just dropped me off," Sami grinned, "You should have warned me that Carmella kills it at foosball."

"Why spoil the surprise?" Bayley laughed, "Sounds like you had fun?"

"Yeah, you as well! I'll tell all when you guys get here."

"Looking forward to it! Oh, Finn's just emerged…did you know he named his bike? For real?"

"You mean Big Red? My idea, actually," Sami grinned at Bayley's groan in response.

"You're as bad as each other."

"And yet, you still put up with us. What does that say about you?"

"It says we're on our way over, so put the kettle on already."

"Will do!" Sami grinned, hearing a faint 'hi, Sami!' from Finn in the background, "See you both soon."

* * *

The humid heat from earlier in the day had calmed down considerably by the time Finn retrieved Big Red from Bayley's apartment. Finn decided to walk his bike back to his apartment, so as not to have Bayley struggle to keep up with him. With both hands occupied on the handle-bars of the bike, Finn had reluctantly allowed Bayley to carry Sami's record and Finn's socks. Finn handled this situation in the most delicate and rational way he possibly could.

"Hold the bag up higher…don't let it dangle so close to the ground…oh, God, watch that fire hydrant…"

Bayley glared at Finn, "Finn, stop moaning or I'll throw your socks across the road."

As threats go, that was possibly the cruellest one that Bayley could possibly have thrown at Finn. He didn't know Bayley had it in her. _So proud._

* * *

"Hey, I'm home."

Sami smiled warmly upon hearing Finn's announcement of his and Bayley's arrival. He quickly grabbed the stuffed Finn toy and walked out to greet them. Finn immediately started to laugh when he saw the toy, Sami waving its little hand in greeting at both Finn and Bayley.

"What the hey-hey?" Sami tried to mimic Finn's voice from the show as best he could, "Want to do the Science Dance with me?"

"That's the most unique way I think I've ever come into someone else's home," Bayley grinned, waving at stuffed toy Finn, "You win that at the arcade?"

"Yep! I won a Finn for my Finn," Sami smiled softly, offering the toy to Finn, "I know, it's silly..."

"No, it's not!" Finn gratefully accepted the stuffed toy, "It can guard my bed whenever I'm not there. Thank you, Sami."

"Anytime," Sami watched on as Finn cuddled Finn close to him, and boy that could get confusing in a hurry, "So, you get whatcha wanted out there… ** _Finn_** , is that bag full of socks?"

"Oh…yeah…" Finn had the grace to look sheepish, "Uh…I swear it wasn't the socks I went for…that was just an added bonus!"

Sami raised an eyebrow in disbelief, "Really?"

"Actually, he's being serious," Bayley offered, coming to Finn's rescue, "As serious as one can be when regarding polka dot socks."

"Okay…so, the actual reason?" Sami looked confused for a second as Finn held out a bag in his direction, "Uh…for me?"

Finn nodded, not quite looking Sami in the eyes. Sami took the bag from Finn, curiosity evident in his face, "You _really_ trekked all the way out there to get something for HOLY CRAP, FINN!"

Finn looked up to see Sami's look of absolute shock, rapidly turning the album-sleeve around in disbelief. Sami gingerly removed the record from its sleeve, almost in awe of what he was looking at.

"It's…this is really…" Sami slipped the record back into the sleeve, before turning to regard Finn, "You…you went all that way out there to get this for me?"

Finn nodded bashfully, squeezing the soft toy in his hands a little tighter, "Yeah…only place we found it in stock."

Sami was still in disbelief, "That place is like…a five hour round trip, though…"

"Three and a half," Bayley interjected, trying not to squeal at the boys' reactions, "Traffic was very forgiving."

"Still…you gave up your last day off for…wow, who knows how long?" Sami felt the tell-tale prickle of tears in his eyes, "You gave that up just…to get me this? Just for… _me_?"

"Bayley helped," Finn mumbled, not entirely comfortable with the look of amazement Sami was shooting in his direction and prayed for a little deflection. He was halfway tempted to use his newfound Finn toy to hide behind.

"Nah, I was mostly just logistics," Bayley replied offhandedly, "It was all Finn's idea."

"Well…I mean, you were so down about it yesterday," Finn managed to say, "I just…hate seeing you sad. Just wanted to help, s'all."

Sami swallowed back a sob, taking a calming breath before turning to Bayley, "Bay, could you hold this a second?"

Sami held the record for Bayley to take, "Yeah, sure, but why…"

Bayley never got the chance to finish her question, as Sami had sprinted across to Finn and wrapped his arms around the Irishman in the biggest hug Bayley had ever seen anyone else deliver. Finn froze for a second, before relaxing into Sami's embrace and hugging him back, little toy Finn falling to the floor. Bayley swore she heard at least one of them crying, probably Sami…although judging from Finn's expression, he was pretty close to tearing up himself. The only other sound in the room was Sami's litany of whispered 'thank you's' to Finn. Bayley let them hold onto each other for longer than strictly necessary for two bro's hugging it out. They looked like they needed it.

Eventually, Sami pulled away from Finn, a few tell-tale tear-tracks on his cheeks, but the huge smile on his face let Finn know they were happy tears. They both seemed happy to be lost in their own little bubble in that moment, until Bayley politely coughed to get their attention.

"As much as I love a good hug session," Bayley grinned, holding up Sami's record, "We did kinda take most of the day to get this for you. I think the least you can do is let us hear it?"

Sami gasped, eyes widening with excitement, "Yes! I will go and do that thing you just said!"

Sami gave Finn one more smile of gratitude, before reluctantly releasing him and retrieving his record, "Gimme a second to set-up, will ya?"

Bayley and Finn watched Sami head off to the next room, before Bayley turned to face Finn with a huge grin on her face, "See! What did I tell you? Nothing but happiness and hugs. Mission accomplished!"

Finn seemed to be more confused than relieved, "Why'd you let me take all the credit? You did all the work…looked up the store, drove us over…put up with me being an emotional mess…"

Bayley merely smiled gently at Finn, "This isn't about who gets the credit…it was all about making Sami happy, right? And we did that! Isn't that all that matters?"

Finn opened his mouth to reply, but music started to flow through the apartment, followed by Sami's delighted laughter. Finn could only smile fondly at his friend's reaction, before bending down to retrieve the fallen Finn and giving it a quick hug.

"Yeah, you're right…Sami's happiness is all that matters," Finn nodded, "Still, I must owe you like…twelve by now?"

"Don't worry about that," Bayley reassured, "Come on, let's go on through and indulge Sami's out there musical taste."

* * *

Carmella had just settled in to bed besides Cass when her phone started vibrating on the nightstand. Cass let out a small groan as Carmella reached over for it, "Carm, it's late…ignore it?"

"Could be important!"

"Could be Bayley sending you cute pictures of puppy dogs."

Carmella looked at the message briefly, before clicking the link provided. Ska music filled the room, with some delighted laughter soon following.

"Well, it's not quite as cute as pups," Carmella conceded, "But it's kinda close."

Cass looked over at the video being played on Carmella's phone. He could only chuckle as he watched Sami Zayn dancing around his apartment, leading a bemused looking Finn Bálor around with him. Finn was struggling to keep up with Sami's moves, but judging from the delighted look on both of their faces, that didn't seem to matter.

"Huh, they finally beginnin' to figure it out?" Cass commented, lying back down on the bed, "Took 'em long enough. Was gonna set 'Zo on them pretty soon."

"Looks like that won't be necessary," Carmella grinned, reading the caption Bayley had attached to the video, "'Stage One Complete' indeed."

"Thought you two weren't gonna meddle?"

Carmella smiled wickedly as the video began to loop, "Hey if the boys came to a natural conclusion whilst we were in the same general area, whatcha gonna do? Ignore 'em? That'd be rude."

Cass groaned, "Put the phone down, babe. Big day tomorrow."

Carmella chuckled, complying with Cass' request before turning off the bedside lamp, "G'night babe."


End file.
